Just by virtue of the fact that a movie is a Star Wars movie, it will have very high expectations placed on it. The upcoming young Han Solo movie is already going to have extra high expectations and pressure placed upon it because we are going to have to try and accept someone other than Harrison Ford as the iconic smuggler. Now star Woody Harrelson has added to those expectations by saying he thinks the Han Solo movie is going to be the best Star Wars movie.

The actor recently spoke with Collider and naturally, the subject of the Han Solo movie came up. He talked about working with directors Phil Lord and Chris Miller, saying that he is feeling extremely positive about the movie so far. Surprisingly positive. Here is what he had to say about it.

"They're great. You know, any movie's only as good as the director or in this case directors, and so I have a suspicion, because if you look at the whole, all the movies, the backlog of every one of these movies, there's a lot of great stuff, but one might not be not as good with the writing in this or the acting in that or the directing in that, this has great actors, great directors, great script, and I really feel like we're gonna make the best one."

That is a bold statement no matter how you slice it. Woody Harrelson doesn't strike one as the kind of guy who is a hardcore Star Wars nut, so he probably doesn't have the same feelings many of us do about most of those movies. But he is most definitely aware of what those movies mean to many people and how good many of them are considered to be in the pantheon of cinema. So, to say they are going to make the "best one" is a big deal. Granted, nobody is actually expecting the Han Solo movie to actually be better than The Empire Strikes Back but still, Woody Harrelson makes a good point about a great team being in place. They at least have the tools and pieces in place to make a great Star Wars movie.

As for who Woody Harrelson is playing, that hasn't officially been revealed by Disney and Lucasfilm but it is being widely speculated (and even seemingly revealed by the actor himself) that he is playing Garris Shrike. In the Star Wars Legends material, which is everything made before Disney took over and reset the canon in 2012, Garris Shrike was a mentor figure to Han Solo and that is how Woody Harrelson's character has been described. Even if he isn't actually playing Garris Shrike it seems very much like the character Woody Harrelson is playing will be taking some cues from him.

Han Solo: A Star Wars Story stars Alden Ehrenreich, Donald Glover, Emilia Clarke, Thandie Newton, Michael K. Williams, Phoebe Waller-Bridge and Woody Harrelson. The movie is being directed by Phil Lord and Chris Miller with a script from Jon Kasdan and Lawrence Kasdan. The young Han Solo movie is set for release on May 25, 2018.